“You first have to learn how to walk before you can run”

If it were up to Arjan Arkesteyn, the range of pastries in his father Marco's bakery in Burgh-Haamstede would be more modern. "Why does it always have to be cream cake? And with a sponge cake base?" Father Marco does see the potential. But he teaches his son that everything starts with the basics. "You have to learn to walk first, before you can run. To make those beautiful cakes and pastries that you see on social media every day, you first have to get the basics right. That’s the only way to make strides."

Father Marco Arkesteyn (54) is quite certain that his son Arjan (20) will succeed him at the bakery Inde Soete Suikerbol in Burgh-Haamstede. When he had to buy a new oven for the business last spring, he asked Arjan for advice. "Arjan has to decide what he wants here. If we buy stuff for the longer term, it has to be stuff Arjan wants to work with - not stuff I dream about. Even though I think he is still young and maybe he should go and explore the world first." And what if Arjan comes across something that he likes better than his father's bakery? "I hope that won’t happen; I'm on my knees praying that he'll come back! But if not, I’ll understand that too. I will never force him to take over the business. Above all, I want my children to be happy: that’s the only way I can ever be happy myself. Besides, I am looking for a successor to make the business futureproof: I would hate it if Arjan would takes over and still pull the plug five years later - or, worse, has to pull it."

Structure

Arjan literally and figuratively grew up in his parents' bakery in Burgh-Haamstede. "My playpen was on wheels in the bakery. And I remember well that, as a 5-year-old boy, I got up at 6.30am to start putting loaves of bread from the bakery onto the shelves in the shop. If I was a little earlier, from time to time, I would be allowed to add the flour to an egg cake batter, for example." At 16, he left for Bruges, where he interned at the Ter Groene Poorte school. "That's where I was educated and taught some manners," he grins. "I needed structure at that time. But I also went to intern at a company already in my first year of study, where you were actually not allowed to go until the fourth year. And I finished that internship with a 9.3! The following year I went to intern at Robèrt van Beckhoven in Oisterwijk and last year I did an internship in Paris."

You first have to learn how to walk before you can run

Assortment

Marco expects Arjan to broaden Inde Soete Suikerbol's product range further in time and also offer more luxurious products. "More and more people visit the shop ready to spend some money. And thanks to the internet, the range is getting bigger and bigger. We used to bake only bread and tompouces; Arjan has an eye for more high-end patisserie. We enjoy looking at cost and sales prices together. We compare our products with the market and look keenly at purchase prices. We both learn from it. After all, you have to have a vision within the company, otherwise you'll be gone in no time." For father Marco's breads, customers come from all over the region. "If I admire anything in him, it is the consistent quality he delivers," says Arjan. "Even though he works very long working weeks. The quality of his products is never compromised. That's something I definitely hope to learn from him." Marco himself loves the artisanal look of his products and has discovered what that’s worth. "When I had just left school and was making perfect biscuits with the previous owner here, with two almonds on top and all exactly the same shape and size, he said: "Ah, I see I'm at a factory? They didn't sell well at all either. At one point, I started topping the biscuits randomly with almonds and banana. I charged an extra 50 cents per kilo and started cutting them on sight. We now sell 20 kilos of biscuits a week! Even the granola bites almost fall apart due to the amount of nuts and sultanas they contain. They actually look like crap, but they sell extremely well. So feel free to show off the craft and charge a little extra for it. As long as it is really fresh and of good quality."

More and more people visit the shop ready to spend some money. And thanks to the internet, the reach is getting wider.

Ambitions

Ambitions are no stranger to the young baker. He told his internship supervisor in France that he wanted to become the best pastry chef in the world. "I added that I didn't care how many hours I would have to work in a day for that. To which my internship supervisor replied: 'The coolers and freezers here work 24 hours a day. But we are human beings. We need eight hours of sleep a day.' We also ate lunch there extensively at lunchtime, for example. You learn from that too. You don't always have to work your socks off. Take your time and make something beautiful."

Butter

Arjan considers the customers on the other side of the display as referees. "My father likes to be present in the shop, to hear the opinions of customers and ask them for tips and suggestions. We can think our products are beautiful and tasty, but it is the customer's opinion that counts." In their bakery, everything has to be top notch for both men. "We will never work with margarine: it has to be butter. If it can be better, we will do it better. And if that makes it more expensive, so be it. We don't compromise on quality." Marco's brother has a dairy farm and supplies his milk to FrieslandCampina. "That's why we use Debic butter. I do it for my brother, kind of:in fact, he is co-owner of FrieslandCampina. Of course also because we like the quality. It gives us the feeling that we now know exactly where our butter comes from!" They are also very fond of the Debic Whipped Cream with 8% sugar. "Because it contains less sugar, the creamy flavour comes out better. It feels good to use less sugar and, on top, it tastes better. That's a win-win as far as we're concerned."

Inspiration

Arjan is interested in making a vegan range. "I am experimenting with it and quite a world is opening up for me. You don't always have to use butter and eggs: you can also make tasty things with coconut oil and almond milk, for example. That's how you learn to look at your profession in a different way anyway - and I like that. I am going to shadow someone who bakes exclusively vegan in the near future." He likes to draw inspiration from other companies, including the ones he interns at. He also really likes to check social media like Instagram and Facebook, where he gets lots of ideas. On Instagram, he connects with other (pastry) chefs; on Facebook, he mainly reaches (potential) customers of bakery Inde Soete Suikerbol. "We made special weekend cakes for a while: you can promote those very well on Facebook," he says. Arjan also enjoys making videos of the production process, for example. "At some point at Christmas, when I made some clips of a large pavlova being prepared here in the bakery, I had 30,000 likes in no time. I started doing it more and more as a result and also approached companies to offer my video services. So now I make videos in the bakery, commissioned by companies such as Debic, for instance."

One of the persons to respond to Arjan was a chief pastry chef from France, who asked him if he already had an internship for next year. "When I answered in the negative, he asked if I felt like joining him. I immediately went over to meet him and it felt good." So however much Arjan likes it in Burgh-Haamstede: he will be spending the winter in France again. He is going to Bordeaux for at least a year to spread his wings further. "Fine, close to the sea and on the coast. At least it will feel a bit familiar. I think it's great that my father is giving me this space. And I am sure that one day I will return with a bucket of inspiration and experiences. Being busy with this bakery every day is the best thing for me."

Becoming a world champion

Arjan Arkesteyn has a major goal in mind: to become world champion. "I have already had the opportunity to work for three world champions. And they have taught me that footballers who play in the Champions League have one thing in common: they train every day. If you want to become a world champion, you have to train. I am working on that now. I work in the most beautiful businesses. I push my own boundaries. I strive for a higher level every day. So I think it's possible. Not necessarily within two years or so. But if I can achieve it in 10 or 15 years, that would be wonderful. It's a dream as well as a goal."